Her story has caused outrage across the community: an 11-year-old girl who accused two neighborhood men of rape, and was then the one accused and remanded for setting up her father to abduct the alleged rapists.
Well, tonight there is finally some good news in that story. 8 days after a Magistrate remanded an 11-year-old girl to the Youth Hostel at mile 21 on the Western Highway she is back at home tonight. How did it happen? We've been following up on the story and here's how today's ordeal went for the 11 year old.
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
This afternoon the 11 year old girl was scheduled to reappear in court before Magistrate Earl Jones but on arrival she was informed that the case had changed. The DPP had the charge of kidnapping withdrawn and replaced with one of abetment to kidnapping she was then taken to family court for bail hearings. Attorneys Emile Arguelles and Sharon Pitts Robateau represented and they secured her bail.
Sharon Pitts Robateau,
"The DPP's office substituted a charge of abetment to kidnapping against the minor and one other minor. The big difference is that the Magistrate could deal with the matter summarily, as he chose to do, under the Juvenile Offenders Act, and also that the child could be admitted to bail and the Magistrate set the bail at a relatively small amount and also they were special conditions, including that the child should receive counseling which will be done through the Community Rehabilitation Officer and the child will be, the grandmother appeared as the parent, and the child would be subject to a curfew. In terms of the curfew the Social Services was indicating or recommending between the hours of 7 pm and 6 am and we felt as counsel that because we want to ensure the child is protected, perhaps should even be as early as 6 pm. We also asked that we be given disclosure and that it be expedited. My co-counsel went on to say that expeditiously doesn't necessarily mean fast with the police so he
asked that a specific date be set for the disclosure. In the present laws of Belize, the Criminal Code under which the child was charged, there is a section 25 (2), which to my mind already deals with a minor, somebody at the age of 9 but under the age of 12, who might not understand the nature and consequences of the matter or crime with which he is charged. I think the law way back in his wisdom, to my mind, provided for this type of scenario so we are very hopeful and positive that in terms of the public policy, the special law, that those things will avail the minor. Actually we were even hoping that the DPP might have come to some enlightenment and withdrawn the charge fully against the child."
But while Robateau may still have some legal wrangling to do, the good news is that the girl is back home and director of the Community Services Rehabilitation Center Fermin Olivera says that's a step in the right direction.
Fermin Olivera,
"Right now we are just very happy that this minor is reunited with her family. She posed absolutely no risk in our opinion to the community and she's safe at her home. We are very happy about that. The court process must continue, we will continue our dialogue with the powers that be, I must acknowledge the efforts by our Ambassador Dolores Balderamos Garcia, and the Executive Director for the National Committee for Families and Children Ms. Judith Alpuche who've been very helpful in helping us to bring some kind of clarity and transparency into this case. So now the judicial process will continue with her. One of the big things is the matter is being heard at the Family Court and I think that's where it should have been dealt with in the beginning."
Alfonso Noble,
There is still the allegation that the little girl with regards to somebody taking advantage of her will your department be pursuing avenues as to securing or ensuring that the person responsible for having taking advantage of her be brought to justice?
Fermin Olivera,
"Yes I was with the people at CIB today and they are mobilizing that again today. The girl is not in a condition emotionally to give statement to that effect right now and understandably so but yes they have every interest and I had an opportunity to read the statements and in fact there were some very major inconsistencies about some certain conditions, not necessarily about the alleged perpetrators. As soon as the girl is maybe more stable we will look at that as quickly as possible."
And that may be the next step but for now the girl is back with her family and her father was without words to explain his contentment.
Oscar Bonilla,
"I feel happy and glad to all the people that helped me because if I had tried to do this by myself, I wouldn't have been able to take out my girl. So I want to say thank you to everybody who tried to help me. Thank you for the people who supported me in this because this is a hard week for me. You know sometimes we don't care what happens to us but when it happens to our kids we feel it. So I feel happy that my child came out."
Sharing his happiness was community activist Nzinga Barkley Waite. But her happiness is tempered by the knowledge that this child has been forever marked
and humiliated by an uncaring system:
Nzinga Barkley-Waite,
"We had people going upstairs of Magistrate's Court, even students, just to look at that child. The wrongs we have done to that child is irreparable. When we took her from there, they brought her back this afternoon and then she was walked from Magistrate's Court over here to Family Court, another indiscretion that should never have happened so my feeling is that the more we keep quiet, the more things like this happen to our children. It must stop and the police need to be able to think things through before acting on crazy directions."
That could not have been put in better words as for the past 8 days it has been total disorder for a family and in particular an 11 year old girl has been doubly victimized first by a sexual abuser and now the system.
The girl was offered and met bail in the sum of $800 and one surety in the same amount; Alfonso Noble signed for the bail. She is to reappear in Family Court on October 5th.
